


Black Cat

by noxiousSanctity



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Dark Shiro - Freeform, Hunk is quietly Gay for Kuro but doesn't quite know it yet, Kuro Imprinting on Hunk, Lance is a Bad Influence, M/M, Memes, background Sheith - Freeform, but smooches and love will definitely happen, cute shenanigans, kuro - Freeform, self discovery, sort of slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-10-13 16:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10517958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noxiousSanctity/pseuds/noxiousSanctity
Summary: He didn’t exactly know what he was signing up for when he unwittingly joined Voltron, but he knew that genetic clones of their leader becoming emotionally attached to him was not what he had in mind.





	1. Imprinting (Or Kuro is compared to a baby chick and it's scarily accurate)

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by https://theprojectava.tumblr.com/post/158638997638/bonus-the-adventures-of-kuro-oh-my-god-this but with my own little spin on it! Also I haven't written any Shunk yet. I need to fix that.

            Hunk wasn’t sure how this predicament suddenly became _his_ problem. He didn’t exactly know what he was signing up for when he unwittingly joined Voltron, but he knew that genetic clones of their leader becoming emotionally attached to him was _not_ what he had in mind. Especially with the glowing eyes and sharp claws on the prosthetic. And the almost… catlike way that Kuro (“ _It’s the opposite of Shiro, right? Don’t look at me like that Pidge.”_ ) seemed to butt his head against Hunk’s shoulder or his back, or sometimes his chest. He also seemed unable to speak more than a few times a day, as if his vocal chords weren’t used to doing so. 

* * *

 

            To recap, Shiro had been captured by the Galra once again. However, this time when Team Voltron barged in to save them, they had found not one, but two Shiros, one more obviously Galra than the other. Pidge was quick to make use of her bayard, but Shiro had stopped her, telling them that the clone was not a threat to them. Haagar had disposed of him when he didn’t show any intents of malicious harm towards Shiro no matter what Haagar did. Only curiousity.

            So warily, they took the clone along, riding in Hunk’s lion because of the sheer amount of armor that the war machine had, and Keith took Shiro with him. The ride back was awfully quiet for the first few minutes, but Hunk had started talking to break the tension. He couldn’t really recall exactly what he was talking to him about, but that was the beginning of when Kuro started to talk.

            “And we have about four dogs at home, they’re doing alright I hope, my sister never remembers to take them out and always leaves it to my mother-”

            “Dogs?”

            Hunk yelped, and the entire Lion shook because he let go of one of the levers. He scrambled to grab it again and as soon as he did Allura was onscreen. “Hunk! What’s wrong, what’s happening? Has Kuro attacked?”

            Hunk furrowed his brow at Allura’s stare of distrust, Kuro watching with blissful ignorance of Allura’s feelings towards Galrans and anyone associated with them, the curious look still there. “Um. We’re fine.” Hunk said as convincingly as he could, smiling. “He just said his first word!”

            “Dog.” Kuro supplied helpfully, nodding as if he knew exactly what the fuck a dog was. Hint: He didn’t.

            Allura studied the two of them for a while before letting her defensive stare drop a little bit. “Alright, but be quick. Keith has already brought back Shiro. We’re all waiting for you.” And the feed was clicked off.

            Hunk frowned a little bit as the castle ship came into view, and as he landed, he turned to Kuro who was looking around in awe, yellow eyes wide. Surprisingly enough, he was acting Shiro’s age, someone in their early twenties out in space. Hunk couldn’t feel any malicious intent coming off of Kuro at all, only wonder. “Hey.” He stood up after he unclicked his belt and turned to look at Kuro, who tilted his head. “Don’t let anyone make you worry, okay? Allura’s a little bit wary of Galrans and galra made creations, but I’ve got your back, okay? Just make sure that you don’t do anything… evilly.” Hunk nodded. “Yeah. Evilness is not cool and would get you kicked off of the ship in no time. Okay? So just… keep doing what you’re doing.”

            “Dogs.” Kuro smiled, sharp canines incredibly visible.

            Hunk should not have found that as adorable as he did.

            “Yeah. Dogs. Let’s go.” He made to grab Kuro’s wrist, but instead the muscled man twisted his metallic limb so that instead Hunk grabbed Kuro’s hand. Realizing, he looked down at where they were conjoined. “Uh…” He blinked at Kuro but the clone simply smiled again, squeezing Hunk’s hand.

            Well then. This would be a bit weird to explain.

            They clambered out of the lion together to see everyone waiting for them, and the reactions were both hilarious and mortifying. Hunk was _pretty_ sure Keith’s eyes were about to bug out of his head, Shiro’s hand intertwined with his own. Shiro seemed to only find it funny, covering his mouth with his free hand as he laughed silently. There was _nothing_ silent about Pidge’s and Lance’s guffaws and snorts, Lance practically collapsing on top of Pidge crying about _‘otps becoming canon’_

            Hunk could only flush as Kuro looked back at Hunk, confusion furrowing his brow. Hunk tried to open his mouth, tried to explain but soon Allura was charging in with a wide-eyed Coran, who had a data pad pulled up and floating next to him. “How incredible, Shiro! A exact replica of you, with just some modifications to the prosthetic! Not to mention the eyes and the…” His eyes trailed down to where Kuro’s hand was in Hunk’s and he brightened even more. “And he’s imprinted on you!!!”

            “He’s what?” Keith asked, head tilted like a befuddled barn owl.

            “I got this.” Lance grinned. “It’s simple. It’s like when a baby chicken hatches, they usually imprint on the first living thing they see that isn’t themselves, or in this case, Shiro. So I guess since he went back with Hunk, he imprinted on Hunk!” Lance grinned. “And that’s why Kuro likes holding his hand! He thinks Hunk is either his mommy or boyfriend! One of those. I’m personally hoping for boyfriend.”

            “Boyfriend.” Hunk stiffened as Kuro echoed the word back to Lance, the blue paladin absolutely lighting up with glee at the word. The clone looked at their hands and then at Hunk, and then at Lance. “Boyfriend?”

            Lance howled with laughter, and Hunk flushed. “I don’t think Kuro knows English, Lance, stop teaching him weird things.”

            “Not knowing English, as you say?” Coran had taken a step forward, tilting his head to watch Kuro. Kuro leveled the same stare at Coran, curious. “Hm… Then…” And all at once, Coran was speaking some sort of gibberish that sounded like he was part werewolf, a series of growls and warbles that immediately had Kuro perking and responding. The two of them went back and forth for a little bit before Coran let out a loud laugh and clapped Kuro on the back, the counterpart grinning. “What a funny human.” Coran let out a giggle and turned back to the rest of them, where their jaws dropped to the floor, including Allura. “What? Did I miss something?”

            “Coran.” Allura managed, disbelief on her face. “None of us understood that.”

            “Oh!” Coran chuckled, straightening out his outfit. “Well, looks like this old man still has some tricks up his sleeve after all. Kuro here can’t be translated by our ships sensors because he doesn’t speak any dialect of Galran in our databases! He speaks an ancient tongue, even to us, that only druids knew and learned. We were never able to decode and put it into our systems. Goodness me, I’m a bit rusty on it but I can still translate it when needed.”

            “Rusty.” Pidge said hoarsely. “You’re… rusty. How the hell do you even know this language if it’s so secret?”

            Coran gave them a sly look. “A master linguist should never reveal his secrets. As a protector of the royal heir, I am trained in everything needed to keep our scion safe” He turned back to Hunk. “Kuro actually would like to stay with Hunk in his room, not surprisingly. I can make the castle shift to have enough room for him and Hunk. He says the rest of you smell unfriendly, so I agree with him. It is about time for you five to get into your snoozing sessions, so I will have it done immediately, and begin Kuro’s lessons on speaking a language our ship can translate. What do you think, should it be English?” He shook his head, grinning at Kuro. “Ah, it doesn’t matter. Altean it is! We can do English later, how about that? Maybe Lance can teach you some of that ‘meme slang’ of his! From what I understand, it’s very funny!”

            “NO.” Keith, Shiro and Pidge said at the same time Lance cried out a very loud, “FUCK YEAH!”

            Hunk sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Quiznak.”

* * *

 

            Kuro didn’t seem to be fazed by his new predicament, being stuck in the castle with the very people he was created to destroy. He seemed to converse easily enough with Coran, and seemed to echo Lance when he said things (“For the love of god, Lance, stop making Kuro say ‘the truth is out there’!!!”). He thought Hunk’s cooking was really good, as he managed to eat a whole bowl of it before anyone else was halfway through. When everyone looked at him, he did a thumbs up, something Pidge had taught them to understand if something was good or bad.

            The oddest thing about the whole ordeal was that Kuro didn’t have a single ounce of shame or personal space. He always followed Hunk around, watching what he did basically plastered to his side. And a few times during the day, he would grab back for Hunk’s hand and give him a thumbs up. It was everything Hunk could do to not wish that the ground would swallow him whole.

            Luckily, during that first day a few people managed to pull him away either to be examined, to learn his biology compared to Shiro’s or just to see what he was like. Pidge had been teaching him hand games, and asking him to show her what his galra arm was capable of, eagerly jotting it down for future exploration and study. Coran and Allura had pulled him aside to ask him about Hagar’s work and what he knew about it. And though Kuro couldn’t speak any of the common tongue or language, he could easily outline the ship and how Hagar had her workshop positioned and how he was experimented on himself. Shiro had even stepped in at one point to listen, wincing at some parts that Kuro didn’t even blink at.

            Shiro seemed incredibly interested in his clone, and Hunk honestly couldn’t blame him. This person was _him_ but not him. The same face, the same body, the same scars. But it was the mentality that was different. And as they all entered the dining room for dinner, while Hunk was sat down on one side of Kuro (“He makes him feel safe.” Coran explained.), Shiro sat down on the other side, watching for differences in both mannerisms and habits. And halfway through eating, Kuro had grabbed for Hunk’s hand once again, the sharpened points gently tickling the skin of Hunk’s knuckles. There was no way to stop the way his face flamed at it, and in an embarrassed tone, he asked, “Coran, why does Kuro… like holding my hand so much?”

            Coran stopped the spoon from his mouth and looked over to Kuro, and then back to Hunk. “Give me a moment.” He swallowed his spoonful and then spoke to Kuro, asking Hunk’s question (he assumed.) The responding smile that Kuro gave had his skin tinting pink as he replied. Coran laughed and nodded before turning back to Hunk. “He says that your hands are warm and he likes how the back of your hand are soft but your palms are calloused. Also you turn pink, but he’s not sure why.”

            Hunk let out a strangled, “Ah.” As Lance and even Keith chuckled at the revelation, and Kuro smiled at Hunk once again. “Gotcha.”

            “Boyfriend.” Kuro nodded. Hunk groaned, letting himself facepalm.

            “My name is Hunk.” The yellow paladin spoke, looking at Kuro with a furrowed brow. “Can you say that? Hunk.” He pointed to himself, jabbing his finger into his shirt. “Hunk.” He pointed at Kuro. “Kuro.” And then back at himself. “Hunk.”

            And then Kuro lifted his human hand and pressed it to Hunk’s chest, leaning forward and whispering, “Hunk.”

            Oh.

            Oh.

            Belatedly, Hunk realized he had made a mistake. “Uh. Yeah.” He swallowed. “Hunk.”

            Kuro smiled and then pointed at himself. “Kuro.”

            “Gay.” Lance whispered.

            Fucking Lance. Hunk loved, him, but he could also kill him in that moment. He cleared his throat and scooted back, standing up and leaving the room, whole face burning.

            _What the fuck was that?_


	2. Chapter 2 (Or the Black Lion gets confused and Kuro is a bean)

To almost everyone’s surprise, it was the Black Lion that had the most trouble differentiating between the identical men. When both Kuro and Shiro stepped into the hangar bay (“Just to see what would happen.” Shiro defended, Allura’s arms crossed over her chest as Shiro tried to convince her that Kuro would not steal the black lion. “I just want to see.”) the black lion lit up, ready to lean down and open her mouth for her paladin- when she stopped halfway through. If the lions had been outfitted with eyebrows, Black’s would be furrowed as her head minutely twisted from Shiro (Who for some reason was still finding all of this shit hilarious) to Kuro (who looked just as confused as the black lion.) Even Allura had to admit, the scene was rather… funny. They basically had the same core, too. It wasn’t like there were any differences in their molecular scale. Kuro tilted his head at the confused rumbling coming from Black’s engine, and in a moment that Shiro would relish forever, Black repeated the motion.

Shiro desperately wished he had a camera.

The scene continued for a while, the rest of the crew watching from a little behind the twins. Hunk just… couldn’t believe that this was an actual factor of his life, and that he could tell someone one day that yes, giant sentient mechanical cats do still tilt their head in confusion. Kuro approached closer, and Allura’s back tensed as he stepped right up to black, and when black leaned down, her mouth touching the floor but not opening Allura tried to stop them. That is, until Kuro stuck out his tongue halfway from his mouth. Hunk couldn’t stop his giggles if he tried. “Did… did he just ‘blep’?”

The black lion studied him for a moment more, and then let the walkway fold down from the lower part of its mouth without opening before pulling it back in again, it sealing shut. Kuro pushed his tongue out again, and the walkway came down. Kuro pulled his tongue back in, and the walkway folded back up.

And then the black lion promptly used its massive paw to scoop Kuro up and wrapped around him, her tail flicking. Keith had to go gather Shiro from where he was crying on the floor laughing, the Black Lion’s purring echoing in the large room. Coran looked delighted. “Ah, would you look at that! They’re bonding!”

* * *

 

It was after the “bonding session” that Coran explained that though the Black Lion saw Shiro as her pilot, she saw Kuro as what seemed to be a small kitten to a lioness. “So basically the Black Lion has adopted Kuro as her cub! He probably will only be able to fly her in extreme emergencies, as she sees him as simply as a smaller version of her, and will only respond to you, Shiro.” Shiro nodded, still fighting to keep some giggles in as Keith crossed his arms. Kuro had finally come back after his bonding session with the lion, and that was where the bleps and the rubbing-his-head-against-Hunk’s-body started happening. Coran was managing to teach him more and more Altean, which could translate easily, and more than once Hunk had caught Kuro naming spices in the racks, beaming a little bit more with every correct ingredient he managed to identify. Hunk couldn’t help but let a tiny little smile overcome his face, and he decided to wait until after Kuro was done with what seemed to be a now daily routine to work on dinner. One night, however, something pushed Hunk a little bit to reach out to where Kuro was practically glaring at the labels and touch his shoulder, making the man jump. Hunk couldn’t help but flinch a little bit too, not expecting Kuro to be so alarmed by his presence. But as soon as it happened, Kuro relaxed, a crooked little smile stretching across his face. “Hunk.” There was no denying the warmth in his tone, as if he and Hunk went way back. “Hello.” 

Hunk blinked. “You can speak… something translatable now?” 

Kuro nodded. “Yes.” He looked over Hunk’s apron, the ingredients he had in his hands, and the way that he seemed agitated and ready to do something. Golden eyes flickered back to Hunk’s face. “You are cooking? Now?” Hunk furrowed his brow a little bit before nodding. Kuro smiled once again. “I will help you.” 

Wait. “Um.” Hunk furrowed his brow. “Wait, hold on. Can you even cook in the first place?” Kuro shook his head. “Ah. Well…” He paused, watching the way that the other seemed to move and shift from one leg to the other, almost as if he were… uncertain? Wary? “Kuro? Is something wrong?” 

“Coran the Gorgeous Man said that I should help you out so I learn the ingredients better.” The confession nearly overrode the inward groan at the male altean’s ridiculous nickname, but Kuro continued. “My plan is not to become a burden or be in the way of your cooking, I just am here to help and learn. If you do not want me to, I will leave you to it, and not disturb you.” 

Before Hunk could actively decide, Kuro turned around swiftly, headed for an exit. “Whoa, whoa, hey!” His hand snapped out and gripped Kuro’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Kuro turned around, a curious eyebrow raised. “I never said yes or no, dude. People usually wait for an answer before leaving, and that’s even if they need to leave.” Kuro furrowed his brow again and tilted his head, making Hunk sigh, pinching his nose. “You can help me cook, but that’s purely banking on the fact that your cooking skill is  _ nothing like Shiro’s _ , you got it? I remember the last attempt at making cookies.” He shuddered, as if he were having war flashbacks. “Here are my conditions. One: Don’t touch anything that sets on fire. Two: if I say 400 degrees for thirty minutes, please  _ do not  _ put it in 4,000 degrees for three minutes. And three…” Hunk shimmied around Kuro to one of the pantries in the kitchen and pulled out a spare apron, this one a bright yellow before tossing it to Kuro, who caught it in his metallic prosthetic. “You’re going to need one of those.” Hunk’s grin stretched a little farther across his face as Kuro stared at the apron, and then at the one Hunk was wearing before putting it on, tying the back around him. “There we go. You ready?” 

“This is your colour.” Kuro replied. Hunk wasn’t quite sure what to say to that, and that gave Kuro the chance to keep going. “You’re yellow, but sometimes gold.” Kuro smiled once again. “I like Hunk’s colour.” 

The yellow paladin swallowed weakly, his cheeks flushing a light pink before he quickly turned away, putting the food on the counter and pulling out the knifes. “ALRIGHTY then. Let’s get going! Sous chef, are you ready?” 

Kuro couldn’t keep the grin off of his face as he nodded. “Yes. I am ready.”

* * *

 

How the fuck. 

Hunk stared at the spotless plate, where the food was delicately arranged as if Gordon Fucking Ramsay had came in. His wide eyes flitted from the plate to Kuro’s face, which was focused heavily on Hunk’s own. His cheeks burned a dark red again, and he looked back down at the food. “How… how the hell did you do that?” 

“Is it bad?” Kuro asked worriedly.

Hunk shook his head. “No, not at all. It looks…” He swore the food sparkled. “...It looks  _ really  _ good.”  Kuro looked like a sunflower with the way that he beamed at Hunk’s praise, and the yellow paladin felt like that one meme Lance showed him of a man with several towels drying off his forehead. He tried his best to think of something else. “How did you make it look this nice?” 

Kuro looked at the plate thoughtfully, resting a hand on his hip and the other resting at his side. “I thought about how it could look really pretty.” Was his simple reply. “And I did it.” 

Hunk gaped at him a little bit before swallowing loudly and managing to get out a small “Good job, man. That’s way better than I had hoped.” before Kuro was stepping towards him again, smiling at him softly before leaning forward to nudge his head against Hunk’s shoulder. “Ooookay. Okay. Oooooookay.” Hunk couldn’t help the way that he stiffened each time that this happened. At first it was because that was, quite possibly, the last thing he could have expected from a clone with razor sharp nails and teeth and made to be a killer. As time went on, he found if he tried to subtly pull away, Kuro would follow, and stay for quite possibly even longer. It wasn’t like Kuro was hurting him, more like… just showing affection? For some reason? Either way, Hunk officially understood the fact that Kuro only did this to him. He had watched to see if he did it to anyone else  (pidge had done his front hair up once, and he nudged his head into hers slightly) and found that no, he was the only one on the ship to get extra close comfort time snuggles from a clone of their gladiator leader. 

Okay. Cool, remain cool, remain chill-

Kuro’s right hand intertwined with Hunk’s left hand again, pulling it up to rub his face against it before resting his head on Hunk’s shoulder, finally still as he gently held the larger palm. Hunk was  _ absolutely sure  _ Kuro could hear his heartbeat, but if he did, he didn’t say anything about it. He just let his head rest there, not feeling how sweaty Hunk’s hands were getting or how much louder all the thoughts in his head were getting, Lance chanting  _ gay gay gay gay GAY GAY GAY _ in his head like he was part of some baseball team where everyone was swinging the other way. It wasn’t until Kuro’s head lifted and the murmuring sounds of his voice reached Hunk’s ears that he pulled out of the baseball gay massacre and looked down, surprised. “Wait, what? Say that again?” 

Kuro couldn’t stop the way that his mouth kind of… pouted. “Why do you never hug me?” 

Hunks’ whole brain short circuited. “I’m sorry?” 

“You hug the others, though they do not show you the same affection as I do.” Hunk watched the emotions play across Kuro’s face. “Even if they do not ask, you hug them, like the short green one, the long noodle one, and the red one who is with Shiro.” His eyes lifted back towards Hunk’s, and the yellow paladin vaguely realized that Kuro was feeling  _ lonely _ . “What can I do to make you hug me?” 

“Uh.” Oh. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to do?!? “Well. I would say ask?” Hunk had  _ never  _ been in a situation such as this before. He’d always been a nosy, touchy feely dude that liked hugging people. But he froze up around Kuro? A human hand grabbed his right one, and his attention was tugged at once again. 

“May you hug me?” Kuro asked, softly and with his head tilted. “Please?” 

Oh. “Oh. Uh. Yeah. Sure.” 

_ What the fuck was his life.  _

As soon as Hunk wrapped his arms around Kuro, the clone practically melted into Hunk’s arms, rubbing his cheek across Hunk’s apron, getting a powdery ingredient over the bottom of his chin as he squeezed Hunk tight. “This is nice.” He mumbled into the fabric, now hiding his face as he stopped moving. Hunk looked at the mop of white hair and the short cut behind it, and in a moment of hand-mind lack of communication, he lifted one hand and ran it through Kuro’s hair, the resounding rumble making Hunk decide to do it again. And again. And again and again until Kuro was basically a puddle of goo in his arms, flopping onto him as if he were some large pillow. 

“Kuro?” Hunk asked quietly. A grumble was heard, and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Buddy? We need to get the dinner to the room.” 

Kuro shook his head. “M’not moving.” Hunk groaned at Kuro’s petulance and Kuro nuzzled his cheek before pausing. “...Will you carry me?” 

Hunk paused to consider, looking at the text above this sentence in contemplation. “Hm. I’ll carry you over my shoulder.” 

“In your arms?” 

“No.” 

“Bridal style?” 

“What- Who even  _ taught  _ you those words?” 

“On your back?” 

“I-” Hunk paused, considering the idea. Kuro could probably keep himself up, and then Hunk can hold the tray of food… He sighed. “Fine.” 

Kuro grinned, basically sliding off of Hunk as if he were a perch before walking around him and without any warning, leaping onto Hunk’s back. Hunk yelped and nearly fell onto his ass, but managed to keep steady, Kuro gripping his shoulders tightly as he became balanced once again and rested his chin on Hunk’s shoulder. “Is this good?” He asked curiously, and Hunk sighed before nodding. It felt like he was wearing a homicidal backpack. 

He walked into the dining room after grabbing the tray to see Lance and Shiro hunched over a strange book while vague discussions of space demons floating over from where Pidge, Keith, and Allura were sat. The sound of the kitchen door opening had everyone looking up in relief, and then in shock. “Hunk, thank god you’re here.” Pidge stood up, brushing herself off before turning to look at him. “Allura doesn’t-” She paused. Stared. Analyzed. And then with a self-satisfied sigh, she adjusted her glasses. “I didn’t know there were koalas in space.” 

“Koala.” Kuro agreed, nodding. 

Hunk sighed, rolling his eyes and placing the tray on the table, where everyone swooped in and grabbed their portion. Kuro, however, must have the thighs of a god, because even as he reached and let go of Hunk’s shoulders, he remained stable on Hunk’s back as he ate his food. Lance was suffering through his tears and trying not to cough up his food from laughing too hard, and Keith was just… straight up watching Shiro and then Kuro, narrowing his eyes at the strength of Kuro’s thighs before his face lit up a dark crimson, and he took several gulps of water. 

Hunk could only imagine what that was about.

* * *

 

Soon enough, dinner was over, and they all got up to go to bed (Keith was pulling at Shiro’s wrist at a speed that could be considered breakneck) and Hunk walked to his-  _ their  _ room, Kuro practically slumped on his back. His breathing was slow and even, and surprisingly he seemed to be a heavy sleeper, whereas a gentle breeze could have Shiro up in a second. He managed to open the door and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw there were two beds, the room basically a mirror image of itself. He walked over to the opposite side of the room where the extra bed was and tried to shimmy Kuro off of him, but instead Kuro yanked, making Hunk flail and fall onto the mattress. He rolled off of Kuro and tried to get up before a grip in his shirt made him stop, and he looked over his shoulder to see Kuro watching him.

“Won’t you stay?” He whispered. “Please?” 

Hunk swallowed. That look on Kuro’s face was back. He couldn’t bring himself to say no, so instead he just softly smiled. “Alright, but I gotta brush my teeth and change my clothes.” Kuro blinked at him and Hunk distantly realized that Kuro didn’t have any other clothes to change into. “Uh. Did anyone give you pajamas?” 

“Pajamas?” Kuro echoed. “What is a pajamas?” 

“Okay, that’s a no.” Hunk sighed, gently pulling Kuro’s fingers out of his shirt, watching the prosthetic curl in mild fascination. “Alright. I’ll let you borrow my spare pajamas just once. Tomorrow you get your own set.” He stepped over to his own drawers and threw the yellow pajamas towards Kuro, who caught them easily. “Now, you gotta change-” He turned around to suddenly get an eyeful of Kuro’s bare torso, littered with multiple scars. He yelped and slapped a hand over his eyes as he heard zippers and the clinking of a belt.  _ “Jesus,  _ Kuro! You need to warn me before you change!” 

The sound of fabric rustling paused, and instead bare feet could be heard making their way across the floor until Hunk knew with 100% certainty that Kuro was standing right in front of him. While he couldn’t see. And was unguarded. “Do I make you uncomfortable?” Kuro’s voice might have intended to be soft, but it was almost too loud in the room. “Do you not find me appealing?” 

Hunk swallowed weakly. “Well. I mean. You can’t just… change in front of another dude.” 

Kuro’s reply was instant. “Why?” 

“I don’t know!” Hunk spluttered, cheeks burning. “It’s just not normally done.” 

A pause was heard, and the footsteps were retreating from him, and the shuffling of clothes continued. “I see. I won’t do it again.” There was silence once again, and Kuro spoke. “I am dressed. You may look now.”

Hunk took his hand off his face to see… Kuro wearing essentially a giant blanket. The fabric of the shirt settled comfortably on his shoulders, but then the rest just looked incredibly baggy on him, and one hand was holding up the pants. “Uh. Are they too big?” 

“They are your colour.” Kuro responded, smiling.

“Okay. But are they too big?” 

Kuro looked himself over before looking back at Hunk and smiling. “No.” 

Hunk was 100% sure  _ that was a fucking lie _ . “...Okay then.” He tugged Kuro’s free hand and led him to the bathroom, where a black toothbrush awaited kuro’s sink, and a yellow one perched on Hunk’s own. “Here we go. Just brush your teeth.” 

“I know this.” Kuro murmured to himself. He put the toothpaste on his brush and brought it to his mouth. He opened up, and his canines started pushing out of his gums, becoming larger and larger until they rested a little below his lower lip. Then he began to brush noncommittally. 

Meanwhile Hunk nearly pissed himself with his wide eyes and toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. “Ah.” He brushed his teeth slowly, watching Kuro brush his own. After he had finished, the teeth retracted back into his mouth, and Hunk could only stare as Kuro turned to him again and smiled. Hunk quickly did the same and soon Kuro was pulling at him again towards the spare bed. He could do little but follow, and soon Kuro had pulled him onto the bed and tugged the sheets over them. They may have been facing each other but soon enough Kuro snuggled his face into Hunk’s stomach, letting his eyes shut before his breathing slowed. Hunk could feel Kuro’s hot breath on his stomach and he shuddered. “You’re certainly an odd one.” He murmured into the air around him, and as he drifted off to sleep, he could have sworn he heard Kuro chuckle as he threw his arm over Hunk’s side, pulling him closer. 


	3. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunk has questions, and Kuro has answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> KURO BACKSTORY YAAAAY and more shunk moments

            If anyone had asked Hunk how he had slept that evening, he wouldn’t have told them that it was _actually a really nice and comfortable rest, there was a clone of fucking Shiro wrapped around my stomach and practically kneading my back._ He would have just shrugged and said “Same as always.”

            But it wasn’t. Especially because of the fact that when he woke up the next morning, it was Kuro’s long black eyelashes that met his gaze. When had he moved up on the bed? He looked down between them, eyes widening at the small pink scrapes from Kuro’s mechanical claws. When had he done those? A quick precursory check made Hunk relax just a little bit. He was still in one piece, good. All that extra fabric belonged to Kuro’s pajamas. But now that he had the time to look at Kuro without being stared at, he decided to try examining him and finding even some subtle differences.

            For one, Kuro was _definitely_ paler than Shiro. They were the same height, too, but where Shiro’s forehead was already slightly creased with worry lines (not large ones, just a little bit visible when his guard was down. Keith had confided in him once about his worry.) his face seemed entirely unblemished by any sort of emotion that could distort his features. There were no bags under his eyes, and even though Hunk could see only a little bit of skin, he noticed something very, very important:

            Shiro and Kuro’s scars weren’t the same.

            Hunk took a moment to think about it. Shiro had a scar on his lower neck, where his outfit covered. He had only seen it once, but it was massive. He didn’t know how he had managed to survive such an attack (did the galra have Cryo-pods?) but Kuro’s side of his neck was unblemished with such a mark. Instead, he had a ring around his neck. It was small, but an alarming shade of pink, as if it were still a raw wound. It wrapped around Kuro’s entire neck, almost as if he had been wearing a collar at one point.

            _Or if someone had tried to cut his head off._

            Hunk shuddered and pushed the thought away, focusing on the rest of the scars he could see. Because the shirt was so baggy, a full part of Kuro’s left shoulder was out and visible. There were a lot of streaks of scars, nothing so violent as being in the gladiator ring, but they were worryingly constant on the skin that Hunk could see. The worry about what he _couldn’t_ was only going to consume his thoughts until he saw it, but he could only wait until both of them were comfortable with getting into the gorey detail.

            “Why are you so alright with these scars?” He couldn’t help but breathe out. Kuro had no problems sleeping, no PTSD that he’d seen in the few days that Kuro had been there with them, and had no… strange little ticks that were traceable anyway. Shiro had a _million of them_ , like faraway looks when a word was said, or when meeting a species that he had fought in the ring, he couldn’t look a single one of them in the eye. Survivor’s guilt, if he had to guess anything. Shiro may not remember a lot of what he’d done, but the body often remembers what the mind forgets.

            He hadn’t realized he had fallen so into his own thoughts until a cool finger pressed against his nose, immediately jolting him back to the present. Kuro had a sly smile on his face, stretching his features into a comical grin. “Why do you seem so lost in your own brain?” He asked quietly, not unlike the day before. “What chases you in your mind? You seem preoccupied in your own head, when you have yet to realize that it’s the morning. Have you even realized your stomach has been growling for a few minutes?” Hunk suddenly realized that _yes,_ his stomach was growling like a monster, but when his eyes met Kuro’s again, the clone seemed to realize it was something more than just hunger. “Have I done something wrong?” He asked cautiously, his brow furrowed. If his eyes weren’t yellow, they would _almost_ look the same. “Is everything alright?”

            Hunk decided to go for the leap. “Why are your scars so different from Shiro’s?” Kuro’s look of wide eyed surprise didn’t keep Hunk from pursuing the question. “And why are you so okay with yours? I don’t understand. You and Shiro both are absolutely _littered_ with marks that will _never_ go away. Memories that will _never_ go away. And yet only one of you seem to be plagued with the fear, the nightmares. Everything about the both of you is so… different, even though you were made in his image. Do you even remember anything about being in there? If so, why are you not as upset and affected by your torture? Your containment? They were going to _kill_ you, Kuro. You’re not even the littlest bit ruffled.” Hunk couldn’t help but reach out and touch the clawed hand, pressing his thumb against the metal of the knuckles, then the palm, and then his wrist, small circles being rubbed into the limb. “I want to know. I want to know everything.” Kuro’s look was troubled at the very least, no longer keeping eye contact with Hunk, his flesh hand rubbing his cheek as he thought carefully. Hunk could practically feel the confusion radiating off of Kuro, but it wasn’t until Kuro looked back up at Hunk, his eyes dimmed, that Hunk realized the depth of the subject he had breached.

            “I remember everything.” Kuro’s voice was quiet. “I remember every mark; every wound I was given. I remember everything they did, and everything they made me do. I remember them calling me a ‘copy’, a ‘replacement’. I was not good enough because I was not the real thing that they were looking for. They thought wounding me would make me stronger, since your Shiro was born in the flames of battle.” His smile had turned a little brittle. “I was shoved into battle, too. The exception of the fact that they had already taken my arm before I was put in there. The difference between your Shiro and I is that Shiro was taught mercy back on your home planet. I had to learn it.

            “I was not a good fighter at first. I was just a clone, I had no experience in fighting. I was given his body, not his mind. Why would I be as good as him if I had no idea what he had been through, what he had done to survive? I was beaten countless times, in private of course. And when I lost, I was hurt even more. They tried to burn the desire to kill into me. They certainly did their best, though it wasn’t my combatants that I wanted to destroy.” The faraway look in the- In _Kuro’s_ eyes made Hunk rethink his idea that Kuro did not experience the PTSD that Shiro did. Instead, it seemed like Kuro was better at handling and hiding it. “And the first time I experienced Mercy was with a combatant who spared my life, even though I had tried to take his. He was a human too.”

            Hunk’s eyes widened. “Matt?”

            Kuro shrugged. “I did not know his name. I do not think he decided to spare me out of the goodness of his heart, but more because I must have looked like someone he knew. Someone he trusted. It was then that I learned the difference between humans and Galra.” He smiled. “Mercy is part of the Human condition, where with the Galra, it is not. I don’t know what happened to him, but I hope he is still alive, and will find your Shiro.” His eyes finally raised back to Hunk’s and his smile finally became genuine again.

            “They wouldn’t stop talking about your Shiro, no matter what. I was constantly compared to my original. I had thought when I met him that I would want to kill him, but when I was presented with the opportunity to finish him off, that fateful day when I met you all, I could tell that it would not make me happy to kill the original. He was just as afraid as me, just as unwilling to die as me. And not once did he light his arm to take my life.” A soft huff of laughter left him. “Instead he just looked at me, and I at him. I could hear the druids in my mind telling me to do it, to take his life, become the better of us, and then I looked at him, and he managed to smile at me, of all things. He even waved.”

            “He waved?” Hunk couldn’t help but interrupt. “Why would he do that?”

            Kuro chuckled. “Probably because I was terrified of him. When someone tells you how deadly and horrifyingly strong someone is and then they pit you against them? What are you supposed to do? I was afraid, though they tried to purge it from me. I didn’t want to attack. I just wanted to leave, and be free. I knew they would kill me if I didn’t kill him, but I couldn’t. I could only sit, and wait. After a while, they just threw us into the cell you found us in, hoping one of us would kill the other. But instead, Shiro started to talk. I don’t know about what, but it was soothing. Neither of us wanted to fight, and that’s when I was given my name. Kuro. His opposite, yet on the same spectrum. I was acknowledged as my own person.” A hum left him and then he yawned. “And that’s when you showed up, and showed me your compassion.” He smiled brightly at Hunk, whose cheeks were flushing just a little bit more now. “And here I am.”

            The yellow paladin seemed to consider this for a moment before nodding, pulling Kuro into a hug. “Well. Um.” He swallowed, hearing Kuro huff against his neck in what he _assumed_ was a laugh. “I’m glad you’re here with us. It’s good to have you here, Kuro.”

            “I never asked you for a hug.” Was Kuro’s muffled reply. Hunk flinched and made a move to pull away, but Kuro’s arms were soon around him, pulling him close with a satisfied smile. “This is nice, we’ve come so far so quickly. Maybe one day you’ll carry me without me asking, I know you’re stronger than me.”

            Hunk blinked, surprised at the sudden bold statement. “What? What do you mean? You and Shiro are both incredibly strong people.”

            Kuro looked a little sly. “I guarantee you that if you wanted to, you could probably bench press the both of us. Don’t think I don’t see your biceps.” As if to make a point, he pinched the skin of his arms, making Hunk yelp. “Are you ticklish?” He asked slyly, the samoan slapping a hand over his mouth. “It’s too late.” Kuro grinned wide, and soon the onslaught of tickles were Hunk’s downfall. Hunk shrieked and flailed as Kuro tickled his sides, his arms, his neck and even his armpits. Sheets were flying, feet were kicking, and eventually Hunk managed to grab Kuro’s wrists in both of his hands and pinned them to the mattress, now sitting on Kuro’s thighs. Both of them were breathless, and with a satisfied smile, Kuro managed to wheeze out, “Told you. Stronger.”

            Hunk looked a little surprised at the sudden correlation with the tickling to his own strength, but when he took in the situation beneath him, Kuro looking at him with lidded eyes, his own brown hair curtaining both of their faces, the man beneath him biting his lower lip, Hunk abruptly came back into himself, pulling back a little to laugh nervously before getting off of Kuro. “Oh. Uh. Sorry. My bad.”

            Kuro furrowed his brow, opened his mouth to reply, and the alarms for the castle went off, Allura’s voice screeching over the intercom: “ALL PALADINS TO YOUR STATIONS, A GALRA FLEET HAS FOUND US!”

An internal crisis would have to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LIVE OFF OF COMMENTS HAYYYYYYYY GIRL

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter and Tumblr!!!  
> Twitter: noxiousSanctity  
> Tumblr: noxiousSanctity


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